Does the first post of a brand new year have to be an obvious, predictable one about NewYear resolutions???
I guess the answer is a yes, esp when you are running out of ideas on what to write and in any case, nobody bothers to read the meanderings of your idle mind, so how does it matter what you write anyway?
So here I was, all geared up to write a post on that one topic that over-rides all others in my new year (and every other occasion led) resolutions - that very predictable/useless/yet impossible to achieve issue of "Eat healthy. Exercise regularly. Lose weight".
It never works yet it is amazing how it makes to the top of my list each yr, when I discovered a similar note on my iPad which said just that with even more specific targets like lose 8-10 kgs by my b'dy in April.
Very reasonable the set target seemed this time around, as against my usually impossible, harebrained plans to lose 10 kgs in 10 days, that for obvious reasons never, ever work, but why in heaven's name do I not remember making this, all complete with shrink like advice on how to not give up on myself and be less critical of myself when I fail.......
When the hell did I make this??? Holy mother of God, I cannot remember making this! What is it? An early onset of a rare form of Alzheimer's? Or am I hurtling towards old age faster than most? Panic stricken, I try to frantically recall which episode of Oprah would have caused this. (Note for the uninitiated - all such plans to alter my life & discover the new or real Me, sometimes both, are always post some episode of Oprah that work brilliantly well for the next 5 days before fizzling into oblivion)
But hold on for a second right there, I haven't watched a single episode of Oprah since I moved to London, which was about 8 months ago. And no one in their right minds, not even a half eccentric like me, makes NY resolutions in mid March! Then a niggling little bit of doubt starts to creep in .....could it be.... was it ...... oh yes, sadly but surely it was! I was looking down at a New Year resolution that I had made for 2011, one that after having written down, I had promptly forgotten about!
In a nutshell, in the start of 2012, here I was, exactly where I was in 2010, experiencing that sense of deja-vu that comes in these simple steps!
1. make that list of resolution to turn your life around -
2. follow it for a whole of 3 days -
3. find extremely valid reasons why its not working out as well as you expected it to -
4. Junk it & forget all about it till the beginning of the next yr!
Now if that wasn't an eye opener, then I don't know what is!! So enlightened, I tell myself that this year I am finally, finally going to learn from the mistakes of my past and be more realistic and smarter about my new yr resolutions!
Yes!! So instead of going crazy trying to diet and lose weight, I shall take the higher, less exhausting and more food filled road and be comfortable in my own skin! (Let me clarify - when I say less exhausting, I mean physically, lest my sister who is a shrink decides to take offence at my flippant attitude to self acceptance and tries to murder me!)
After all, didn't Goethe say, "If God had wanted me otherwise, HE would have created me otherwise"? ;-)
So now that I have made peace with myself & come to the conclusion that I shall not be focussing my energies on diet and losing weight, all the time that I shall have to spare can go in more fruitful ventures that may actually end up being more successful! So I have decided to attempt and get a list down to see what all I can do with that time...
Thus, here is my top ten wish - list (being smarter, I have also got rid of the term 'resolutions' as well) for 2012 -
1. Be more regular with my blog. So what if nobody reads it. I shall be the writer, the reader, the editor, the audience, the fan, the critic, et al!
2. Read atleast 12 good books that have been sitting catching dust on my bookshelf.
3. Learn 1 new language
4. Do atleast one trip with only my camera for company.
5. Spend more time photographing my favourite subject - nature.
6. Grow some more flowers and a few more vegetables other than tomatoes this year.
7. Spend less time on Facebook. Be off my laptop when my kids are around. Which also means not surreptitiously checking FB on my phone when I am with them or with the hubby!
8. Clear my life of self centred pigs & annoying morons who don't make even a bit of difference to my life and make time and room for those who do.
9. And, each time I get exasperated, annoyed or exhausted with my brats and want them to do things my way, to never lose sight of this poem by Diane Loomas -
If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.
I'd fingerpaint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love
10. And Oh! finally before I forget, here's the most important one - to find a job, one that sends in some much needed moolah every month into my bank!
